I would like to tell everyone what a great guy (which I'm sure most people here know) Frenchy is at http://www.frenchyspipes.com/index.php . I ordered some cobs to put in the Pipe Gift packs. He refunded $15 off our order and threw in some pipe lighters when he found out what we are doing for the troops. I'm not sure if my fellow BoB's know but Frenchy has been sending stuff for our troops for awhile.

Gentleman, I received a message of thanks today along with a picture from a medic in Afghaninstan who received some of our first two boxes. I am getting ready to ship out two more. I have enough stuff to make up another two boxes this week. So far I've been able to make up ten boxes of goodies with all of the donations that I have received. I thank all of you once again for your help in this project.

Three more packages went out today to an artillery outfit that Bulldog Bruce was so kind to provide the address too. Way to go Bruce.

That makes a total of seven boxes going out so far to our troops. Still have at least five more to go. As it stands right now we have collected 180 cigars, enough pipes/blends for 31 gift packs, 20 tins of chewing tobacco and 20 packs (5 corolla's per pack) of cigars along with decks of cards and other small items.

Three more packages went out today to an artillery outfit that Bulldog Bruce was so kind to provide the address too. Way to go Bruce.

That makes a total of seven boxes going out so far to our troops. Still have at least five more to go. As it stands right now we have collected 180 cigars, enough pipes/blends for 31 gift packs, 20 tins of chewing tobacco and 20 packs (5 corolla's per pack) of cigars along with decks of cards and other small items.

Gentleman, today I received a letter form one of the individuals in the above picture, I believe the guy in the Boony hat. It says the following:

"11 Nov 2008

Hello Michael

Thank you for the gift pack. I have been smoking cigars for a few years now, and have never considered a pipe before. I kept one, and I must admit, it was a very pleasant experience. I think so far, the English blends are my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, the cigars will not go to waste, still my first love. I found that many of my cigar buddies were interested in the pipes. It didn’t take long before all were gone. We took a picture of the ER pipe crew and tried to post to the Brothers of Briar web page. I’m not the computer guy, I leave that to better qualified men. It didn’t work. We are not working with the best Internet server here. The military puts a lot of restrictions on what we can do with the system. I tried printing the picture to mail it, but, we don’t have a printer that was up to the task either. I would appreciate it if you would pass along to the other club members that their contributions were well received form all of us, thank you. We really appreciate that there are people at home who appreciate what we are doing over here. It’s an honor to serve, but it’s nice to know that folks at home are thinking of us. Thank you for the gifts, and the thoughts behind them.

Sincerely

TSgt John BartramUSAS Task Force Med ER"

I echo his sentiments. Thank you once again for all of your guys help in this project. Two more boxes go out tomorrow and the rest this Friday. We will have sent out twelve boxes and now a possible thirteen.

Gentleman, I received another letter of thanks today from the gentleman in the picture. They must of got the second set of boxes I sent for them to distribute. The humidor he is talking about (1 of 2) was donated by DocWatson and the scarves were made by Bulldog Bruce's wife.

Here is what he wrote:

"28 November 2008

Hello Mike

Greetings from Afghanistan to you and the Brothers of Briar. Thank you for the care packages. Good thing you sent the humidor, you sent so many cigars I wouldn’t have room to properly store them. What a great problem to have! Don’t worry; I have enough cigar buddies that they won’t go to waste. I carry a 10 stick travel humidor to work with me every day. On a good day I might get 2 cigars a day, but you just can’t be without a spare or 8. I just like to know if a guy over here wants a stogie, he can have one. Thanks to the generosity of folks like you, that’s just not a problem. Those pipes were also really nice; I think I’ll have to keep the English pipe. It’s just too cool! The scarves were a big hit; the ladies in the ER really appreciated them. It’s starting to get cold here. The afternoons are still nice, but the evening chill and morning frost are getting closer together. It won’t be long before it’s cold all the time. Fortunately, we just completed the “Shade.” You see, the hospital has a smoking area on the roof, where we took the pictures. It’s great, but we weren’t authorized to have a roof, so we built a canvas “Shade” on the top and the side’s that wind comes from. Because there is absolutely no excuse for missing out on a quality pipe or cigar, besides we had the time on our hands. You’d be proud; I think I’m getting the hang of packing my pipe. It’s a lot more difficult that I had originally thought. Practice, practice, practice, it’s the only way to get good at anything. I’m not complaining, it’s a fine excuse to smoke a pipe. Not that I need an excuse. Luckily, my boss is one of the guys in that picture, makes it easy to get a smoke break. Just as long as it’s not busy in the ER. Fortunately, things have been pretty quiet here. The bad guys really don’t like to fight in the cold. It’s about the only thing they do over here that makes any sense to me. Still, it’s nice to have the down tempo. Besides, excessive patient load could negatively impact my smoking, and we just can’t have that. On the bright side, most of our combat injuries are Afghan Army soldiers. If you ask me, that’s how it should be. I sure don’t mind patching these boys up, seems better than patching up our own. Mike, I just wanted to thank you for thinking of us over here. It means a lot to me that there are folks like you and Brothers of Briar who are concerned enough about us over here to send such wonderful gifts. Thank you, your friend, John

Sincerely

TSgt John Bartram455th Air Expeditionary WingTask Force Med ER"

Great going guys. As a side note I had a two day set back in getting the last of the packages out. I had to work and my wife was feeling ill so four of them didn't get out until today. The last one apparently has a zip code issue that I need to contact the person who supplied the address and get the correct zip code. It is going to Camp Basra in Iraq. If I am not mistaken that will make a total of twelve boxes sent, all from donations of stuff from you guys and a great group of guys I work with at USAirways. They helped with donations of pipe tobacco, cigars and chewing tobacco. As soon as I have a couple of minutes I will put down the total of what all we sent and to where. I can't say it enough, Thanks again for all of your help in this endeavor.

Here is a final total of what we have sent out to the troops this year. IMHO this year was a great success and I again thank you guys and my fellow inspectors in Phoenix at USAirways for making this all happen. We sent out twelve boxes (total) to the following serviceman for distribution.

42 pipe gift packs that consisted of at least four blends (at least one tin and three commercial pouches of pipe tobacco or three pouches of bulk), pipe, matches or a lighter and pipe cleaners166 cigars15 (5 packs) of Corona cigars40 tins of chewing tobacco5 tins (100 gm or larger) and a couple of extra pounds of bulk14 decks of playing cardsScarfs, tea, chapstix, etc.

Thank you once again for all of your support this year. You guys made this all happen, I am just the humble shipper of gifts. I am sure we have made quite a few serviceman happy this Christmas, if not for the gifts, for remembering them out there during the holidays and for what they are doing.